Finding the right product and, subsequently, having it produced in Asia, is what interests us. Although we tend to share what happens from the point of view of insiders, we thought it was time for you to see things from the idea of a successful entrepreneur, selling products made in Asia.
The person in question is Tomas Ericsson, founder of Axess, a fashion wallet brand. In this article, Tomas explains why he chose wallets as a product, tells us about the difficulties he encountered in finding the right manufacturer and how it all took off after a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Tomas, tell us a little bit about yourself and tell us what you did before launching your Axess portfolios
Before starting my e-commerce business, I worked in Shanghai as a marketing manager for a Swedish recruiting consulting firm, which is one of those companies that help companies find and evaluate suppliers in China.
After completing my university studies, I arrived in China in 2012 and it was a lot of fun to live and work in Shanghai.
You have lived in China for many years and have worked in product recruitment. How did this experience help you start your business?
Shanghai is a very entrepreneurial reality, at least among the expats who live here.
Everyone has some kind of business idea and, in general, the people who come here seem to have a more constructive attitude than you usually find in Sweden and it creates a feeling of possibility.
All of this served to motivate me to go through several steps necessary to create a business. Anything is possible in Shanghai, at least that’s what it seems. Once you take the plunge to move here, everything that follows doesn’t seem to be that difficult to imagine or accomplish.
I know that Sweden has a lot of startups and that such an entrepreneurial spirit exists to some extent, and yet, based on my experience, I didn’t find this atmosphere when I came back to Sweden.
Axess is a wallet brand. Why wallets?
A few years ago I really wanted to start a business and I tried numerous ideas.
But I knew little about how to start a brand and what gives life to a good business idea compared to a bad one, so I thwarted a lot of effort.
I’ve read a few books on business, especially all of Al Ries’ books on marketing (e.g., the 22 immutable laws of marketing) and I’ve been really inspired by his theories about being highly specialized, building a brand around a niche product, trying to own a specific product (and dominate its category), on the importance of a brand, etc.
I felt empowered to start something extraordinary!
Did you try other niche products before creating Axess?
I had previously tried my hand at developing iPad covers, but I had come to the conclusion that a unique pocket wallet was more special and could work.
I did extensive keyword research regarding pocket portfolios, and my theory was that a brand that focuses only on this item can gain enough space to be profitable in that market.
Once you decided to launch your brand, how did you get started?
To start, I got samples from some Chinese wallet manufacturers I met at a trade show (since my business is about pocket wallets).
But I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the leather and our contacts, so I decided to find a manufacturer in India, as I knew that, in general, they have a long tradition of producing handmade items there.
After using Elance.com (currently Upwork.com) and finding an Indian sourcing agent, I found a good wallet manufacturer in Kolkata that I have been using ever since and have a very good working relationship with him.
I always try to develop new models and designs, which helps me greatly to have a manufacturer that is collaborative and more like a long-term business partner: a lot of our work is based on trying and trying again, always looking for new designs, which requires a lot of patience on the part of the manufacturer.
How did you find the right material?
To find the right leather, I attended the largest world fairs in Hong Kong that deal with leathers, I met several tanneries from all over the world and I collected a lot of business cards and samples, since I knew very little about leathers and I didn’t know what to look for.
An Italian tannery had intrigued me, but it was twice as expensive and required a very high Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) compared to tanneries in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Nevertheless, I remember that the quality of his leather was etched in my memory – it was special, but I didn’t get enough funds, since I needed about 100,000 CNY (more or less 14,500 USD) to buy their hides, since I only had almost a tenth of the total amount in the bank.
How did you finance your first batch?
That’s where Kickstarter came in. That year, Kickstarter introduced Sweden to its network of countries that are eligible to launch commercial campaigns.
So, I had samples made in India and, after buying some small pieces of leather from the tannery, I made a short video and launched a Kickstarter campaign which, to my surprise, raised about 350,000 Swedish kroner – so I could go ahead, buy Italian leather and launch my business.
The “portfolio market” is relatively crowded. How did you distinguish your product?
As I mentioned before, I followed some marketing theories that I read, tried to specialize in a niche market and didn’t find a really strong competitor that only makes luxury pocket wallets, so I thought there was a chance that a brand could focus on this very area.
Now I understand that the market has faded a bit, as there are many terms used for the same product (minimalist wallets, thin wallets, etc.), but I still follow the basic theory, according to which you have to keep a specific category of wallets in stock, and I want to create an uncommon brand that uses not only superior quality leather from Tuscany, but also has more variants of pocket wallets than anyone else.
All this is possible only thanks to high specialization
Which sales channel do you use?
I currently sell on Etsy, Amazon, and my online store. Most of my sales take place primarily on my online store.
So, where can our readers find your wallets?
Just check out the www.axesswallets.com website.
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